M6:983 — عشق ربانیست خورشید کمال / امر نور اوست خلقان چون ظلال

Translation: Divine Love is the sun of perfection; its light's essence dictates that creatures are but shadows. Meaning: This verse asserts that true Love originates from the Divine Essence and is the ultimate source of perfection. In the radiant presence of this Love, all created beings are mere ephemeral shadows.

This verse, delivered through the purported voice of Abu Bakr but truly embodying Rumi's own profound insight, lays bare a fundamental ontological truth, revealing the very core of Masnavi's wisdom. Rumi has just previously spoken of the "mine of gold" (kān-e zar) and the "counterfeit coin" (sekke-ye qalb) – contrasting genuine gold with plated fakes. The ultimate destiny of those false coins is for the gold plating to return to its true mine, exposing the base metal beneath. In contrast, the love of the truly discerning is always directed towards that kān-e zar, which has no rival in its golden essence. It is at this juncture that Rumi makes a colossal leap, unveiling the ultimate reality:

"Divine Love is the sun of perfection." This is an assertive and unequivocal statement. Love, here, is not merely an emotion or a psychological phenomenon; it is the very truth of existence itself, the essence of perfection (kamāl). But not just any love, rather "Divine Love" (ʿeshq-e rabbānī). Perfection, from Rumi's perspective, is the ultimate existential realization, and this perfection is the unmediated effulgence of Divine Love. As you can see, he likens this Love to the "sun" (khorshīd); a sun that is itself the source of light and warmth, dependent on nothing beyond itself. This stands in direct opposition to virtual or human love (ʿeshq-e majāzī), which, in Rumi's words, is fragile and akin to a counterfeit coin.

He then states: "Its light's essence dictates that creatures are but shadows." Here, amr should be understood as aṣl (essence, origin, root). The very core and nature of that Divine Love's light are such that all beings, all khalqān (creatures), are nothing but zelāl (shadows). This is an explicit ontological declaration that clearly indicates where truth must be sought. Truth resides in that sun of perfection, in that primordial light, and not in these fleeting phenomena and creations that, like shadows, pass before that sun and vanish.

This imagery of shadow and sun is widely used in Islamic mysticism. A shadow has no independent existence; it derives its being from the projection of light upon a body. Without that sun and that body, there would be no shadow. The existence of created beings is similar: their existence is borrowed, their presence contingent, and their reality dependent on the presence of that "sun of perfection." Humans and all of existence, as Rumi puts it elsewhere, are merely the "foam of the sea" (kaf-e daryā) – transient forms whose true essence lies in the formless depth of the sea.

This verse, in essence, provides the foundation for distinguishing between true and virtual love. Virtual love is directed towards shadows, towards transient beings and phenomena. But Divine Love is directed towards that very sun of perfection, towards that "essence of light" which is pure truth. This is why Rumi constantly emphasizes returning to the origin; for it is only in the origin that perfection and truth are found, and therefore, it alone is worthy of ceaseless and unrivaled love.

Key takeaways

• True Love is the source of perfection, intrinsically emanating from Divine Reality.
• In the face of Divine Love's light, all creatures and created beings are merely transient and unreal shadows.
• This verse establishes the fundamental distinction between virtual love (directed at shadows) and true love (directed at the sun of perfection).
• The term amr in this verse signifies 'essence' or 'core,' pointing to the inherent nature of divine light.
• Acknowledging the 'shadow-like' nature of creation is a step towards perceiving the constant presence of the 'sun of perfection.'